@nicolesorce

I know I’ve never played hockey – you all can stop reminding me. Being an agent and scout involves way more than an understanding of statistics and moves on the ice (which I do have, by the way). 

I have never pretended to be something I’m not. Sure, there are agents and scouts out there who know the on-ice game better than I ever will. But the off-ice game matters, too. The way I’m finding success with Higher Hockey Management is by bringing my unique skillset and experience to the table. Many of you already know about that skillset, but if you’re new here, let me provide an overview of my hockey experience and my role as an European scout and player agent.

15+ Years and Counting: The Early Seasons

My passion for hockey began my senior year of high school, when I had an enthusiastic, former-ECHL player as my physical education teacher. He was also the school’s hockey coach. Early in the 2008-2009 school year, he made an announcement that he was looking for assistance with keeping varsity hockey statistics. When I volunteered, he was excited to teach me and my counterparts everything he knew about tracking a game on paper. From recording faceoff wins and losses to charting the locations of shots on goal, missed/blocked shots, and goals, I kept detailed records of each period of play, providing real-time insights to the coaches and players. I also have vivid memories of promoting team spirit, baking the players cookies or brownies and decorating their lockers on game days (which were traditions for the “stat girls” at my school). As the leader of the group of statisticians, I earned my varsity letter in ice hockey and ended my high school experience on a positive note.

When I arrived at Ithaca College in Fall 2009, I jumped right into assisting the men’s ice hockey club, quickly earning the title of Team Manager. I served as the official scorer for reach game, operated the scoreboard, and kept the same statistics that I did in high school. The guys were always excited to look at my charts during each intermission. And while the team might’ve only been club level, my four seasons also exposed me to the other sides of working in hockey, including managing team finances, scheduling ice time, communicating with other teams, and even taking care of the players when they were black-out drunk, frequently needing rides home or asking me if they were going to die as they clutched the toilet. Such fond memories.

Managing the college hockey team wasn’t all I was up to. I completed my first two internships in minor league baseball in 2010 and 2011 for the Sussex Skyhawks and Trenton Thunder, respectively. Later in 2011, I was a press box intern for the Trenton Titans (ECHL). This led to an internship with the Binghamton Senators (AHL) in 2012, which also became my first full-time job out of college in 2013. These collective experiences taught me invaluable lessons about media relations and what it’s like to work with professional athletes up close.

I headed to the Portland Pirates (AHL) in the spring of 2014, just as the postseason was coming to an end. I accepted a ticket sales account manager position and had the chance to work with youth hockey squads and school music ensembles, allowing Maine’s youth to get involved with their professional hockey team. I organized pregame and intermission skates, auditioned bands and choirs for singing the National Anthem, and ultimately helped to grow the game by connecting school-aged children with the greatest sport in the world. The faces of the youth hockey players will forever live rent-free in my mind – they were amazed at getting to see their favorite Pirates warm up from the bench or being able to change in one of the team’s official auxiliary locker rooms. The same can be said for the young musicians who had never performed for such a big crowd in their lives.

While I loved my Portland experience endlessly and miss it daily, I had an obsessively deep yearning to make it to the NHL. And to the NHL I went, moving from Maine to North Carolina in Fall 2015. Working as an inside sales associate for the Carolina Hurricanes gave me my first real taste of “the show” – and also taught me some priceless life lessons that helped to turn me into the professional I am today. 

The nicolesorce.com and Higher Hockey Era

In 2016, I decided it was time to take my career in a new direction. I did not feel fulfilled from ticket sales positions, and I wanted to go back to my roots of sports writing and photography. That led to the creation of nicolesorce.com and my journey of earning media credentials to a myriad of AHL and ECHL arenas. Some of you have probably seen me frequenting at games for the Utica Comets, Syracuse Crunch, Belleville Senators, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Providence Bruins, and Adirondack Thunder – just to name a few. 

2017 was a pivotal year in my career. I was lucky enough to be credentialed for the entirety of the Calder Cup Playoffs and had the privilege of being on the ice as the Grand Rapids Griffins celebrated their championship. I also earned my M.A. in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University, earning the honors of program Valedictorian and an advanced achievement award. I was ready to kick things up a notch in the coming seasons – and that I did. By 2019, my hard work truly paid off when I got recruited to write for the old Ottawa Senators Foundation. This included getting published on NHL.com and in the Ottawa Business Journal, and I even got to cover their gala. (If anyone from the current Senators Community Foundation sees this, I would love to volunteer again!)

2017 was also the year I began working with Higher Hockey Management as Director of Marketing and Public Relations. I rebuilt the website, started social media channels, and wrote press releases when I began my tenure, and over time, as I learned more about the European hockey world, I evolved into one of the most unique hockey scouts this side of the globe has ever witnessed. Here’s this young Italian woman along the glass – with a credential on and a huge camera – and she’s scouting for players who want to go to Europe? The camera actually became my biggest recruitment tool – something not all scouts can say.

By 2023, I had gained enough of Higher Hockey’s trust to officially be dubbed an Agent. I had been bringing on new players and became directly involved in efforts to get them signed. Everything I do is led by Derek Bekar and Jason Krog’s guidance, and nothing can replace their expert opinions when it comes to players working with the right agency. With everyone at Higher Hockey in their corner, including myself, players can trust us as their official representation, which is very important for professional athletes to have. Many athletes at this level believe that they can make more money if they represent themselves, but that is not the case, as Bekar has taught me. And as Krog reminds me often, our vast network of connections will be more effective for players’ careers than anything they could negotiate on their own.

All in all, I’m heading into 2026 with over 15 years of experience at many levels of the hockey world, from high school and college club to the NHL. I have a sound understanding of what it’s like to live the hockey lifestyle and can relate to what players go through – being away from their families, traveling constantly, the abundant pressure and competition, etc. This makes me valuable to Higher Hockey Management, as I can look out for our players’ work-life balance, which to me is more important than interpreting statistics or styles of play alone. 

A Game Day in the Life in 2026

A better term for “hockey agent” would be “hockey player salesperson.” It really feels similar to the process taken in sales – you have the prospecting (scouting) phase, the relationship-building phase, and eventually a commitment. At the end of the day, being an agent is just like being a salesperson – but instead of selling season tickets, I’m selling qualified athletes to fill lucrative roster positions overseas. 

When I attend games, it’s usually for one of two reasons: scouting opportunities or visiting current clients. I arrive to the game early to pick up my credential and get my bearings of the arena, especially if I haven’t been there before. If I have any players to meet with, I usually do so before gates open to the public, as we can sit and chat in the empty arena somewhere in privacy. We discuss the player’s goals for playing overseas, salary expectations, and his family situation (will a wife and kids or a girlfriend be accompanying him?). I then report back to Derek and Jason, and we collaborate to negotiate the best offers on behalf of the player. I typically spend the rest of the game with my camera, taking pictures and video of those I am scouting and any guys we currently represent.

I’m looking forward to the second half of the 2025-26 AHL and ECHL seasons and for all of the hockey experiences to come. If you are interested in working with Higher Hockey Management, whether you are a general manager or coach seeking American imports in Europe or a player wanting to take his career overseas, please reach out to me on social media (@nicolesorce).